Backyard wrestling was extremely popular for those lucky enough to live on the east coast of the United States. The rise of hardcore professional wrestling in the late 1990's on the East Coast reached millions of new fans who became swept up in the hardcore craze. Thousands of feds would form throughout the east coast, allowing for many great people to come together and backyard companies to flourish.
New York City became a hot-bed for backyard wrestling despite the fact that most of the companies didn't actually have their own backyards to compete in. To overcome this situation, backyard wrestling companies in New York City chose to compete in city parks and playgrounds. The documentary, Controversies of New York Backyard Wrestling covers this phenomenon in great detail.
Back in 2003, photographer Bryan Denton began documenting amateur underground wrestling leagues in New York City. For two years he immersed himself in the chaotic and unpredictable world of backyard wrestling.
In 2016, many of his photos were published in Timeline Magazine. Click here to check out this interesting piece on NYC underground wrestling.
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